Joining our party will give you a voice and the chance to offer your time and energy for causes that matter to you. Here are just a few of the reasons you might want to join.

The NHS

Your local constituency Labour Party is one of the key challengers to the destructive intentions of the so-called Success Regime, which is planning to close the in-patient beds at both Wigton and Alston community hospitals.  These are valued community assets, offering convalescent, respite and end-of-life care where family and friends can visit easily.  The Labour Party is the party of the NHS and your local party will not stand by and see ANY diminishment of the commitment to free and comprehensive healthcare.

Education

The Tories have declared their intention to permit new grammar schools and to allow religious state schools to select entirely on the basis of parents’ religious affiliation (currently it is up to 50%).  The Labour Party knows that no parents want their children going to a secondary modern, and recognises that any community is stronger and more cohesive if children meet those with different views (religious and other) from themselves.  There is no intention to close our one existing grammar school, but to ensure the best education for every child in Penrith and the Border.

Agriculture

We all know, only too well, that ‘Brexit means Brexit’ (whatever is intended by that statement) but what will happen when EU subsidies and the follow-on commitment to 2020 have ended?  We now have a Conservative Secretary of State at DEFRA who has said that hill farms should give up on farming and become places for butterflies while those with ‘the big fields’ should do farming, a level of ignorance that is painful to behold.  It is absolutely crucial that farmers, their friends and families become involved in helping to develop a robust Labour policy on agriculture, including pressure on the Brexit negotiators, a clear plan for the uplands which respects our hill-farming traditions, and recognition of the key importance of all food producers.

Labour and Debt

To find out how much Labour has borrowed over the years compared to the Conservatives, please go to our Page on Labour and Debt. I think you might be surprised.